Field of the Invention
The present application is directed to prosthetic feet, and more particularly to prosthetic feet having a hybrid material layup arrangement.
Description of the Related Art
Various types of prosthetic foot devices are available as substitutes for human feet. Conventional prosthetic feet, which can be made of various layers of carbon fiber, are generally provided in a number of sizes and categories (e.g., activity categories) to fit the different population of users and activity levels of the users. For example, users who engage in low impact activities such as walking and gardening may need a prosthetic foot with a particular stiffness and/or strength. Users who engage in high impact activities, such as running or playing sports, however, may need the prosthetic foot to have a higher strength and/or different stiffness than that of a low activity user. In a conventional prosthetic foot, designing the prosthetic foot for an increase in strength requires an increase in the overall thickness of the prosthetic foot and results in a corresponding increase in stiffness (i.e., a decrease in flexibility or flexion of the prosthetic foot). The increase in stiffness and thickness adds to the weight of the foot and may require a user to exert more force on the foot during ambulation.